Happy Halloween! As I watch the Former Islanders around the league rock the net, I cannot help but feel excitement for the pending arrival of some of our big prospect names. First, Islanders fan need not worry about the standings. No team has played fewer games than the Isles (9) who are above .500 at 5-4-0. This season is going okay thusfar. Now to the future:
* I know for fact that fans are dying to seeing Jeff Tambellini back on Isles ice. Tamby! Tamby!
* Frans Nielsen is burning it up in Bridgeport with 6 points in 7 games.
* Rhett Rakhshani a native of Orange, CA (represent), is helping burn it up for #7 University of Denver Pioneers hockey with 4 assists in 4 games.
* Kyle might be struggling a little bit but our boy Okposo will turn it out soon enough. He has 1 goal and 2 assists in 6 games for #8 University of Minnesota Golden Gophers.
* Jesse Joensuu is trying to help his struggling hometown team Assat (Pori) of the Finnish league with 7 points (5 goals, 2 assists) in 18 games.
* Blake Comeau is trying to shake off some early season rust and overcome his slow start to energize the Sound Tigers. He has only 2 points so far this season.
Why all the rambling, you ask? My point is that these prospects will find their way to Islanders center stage and for many fans we hope sooner rather than later. Chris Campoli should be the icon for current Isles prospects. Drafted 227th overall in 2004, Campoli is third on the team in points with 9 in as many games and he is a defenseman! All good things come in time. So keep plugging away Kyle, Rhett, Blake, Frans and Jesse. And, oh yeah, let us get Tamby back up to the NHL where he belongs. Please.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Okposo, Where Art Thou?
Checking the fresh Minnesota hockey news this week, we found that those lovable Gophers had moved up to 8th (previously 10th) in this week's NCAA men's hockey rankings. This is the 96th straight week that UM has placed in the top 15 of the poll. While that's good, there is a somewhat disconcerting item hanging over the team right now. Two members of Minnesota's top line are just not scoring.
Admittedly, it's *very* early to call someone out about their play, but one has to notice that Kyle has been completely absent from the scoring sheet since Opening Night (6 games). Even coach Don Lucia has voiced concern, recently saying his Minnesota squad "can’t be the type of team we want to be without [sophomore forward] Jay [Barriball] and Kyle scoring."
Maybe we're getting too worked up about nothing. Kyle could be be distracted by some off-ice issue. Maybe he has just been unlucky. Perhaps his scoring touch is just in a bit of a down cycle? Whatever it is, we want Kyle and his fans to know that we are rooting for him, and we're hoping he breaks out in a big way this weekend against conference foe Denver. Minnesota will host Friday night and Sunday afternoon games at Mariucci Arena so as to thoughtfully not interfere with Saturday's Al Arbour Night on Long Island. Thanks, guys!
Check back often for Isles/Gophers/Kyle news as it happens this weekend, and good luck to all three.
Admittedly, it's *very* early to call someone out about their play, but one has to notice that Kyle has been completely absent from the scoring sheet since Opening Night (6 games). Even coach Don Lucia has voiced concern, recently saying his Minnesota squad "can’t be the type of team we want to be without [sophomore forward] Jay [Barriball] and Kyle scoring."
Maybe we're getting too worked up about nothing. Kyle could be be distracted by some off-ice issue. Maybe he has just been unlucky. Perhaps his scoring touch is just in a bit of a down cycle? Whatever it is, we want Kyle and his fans to know that we are rooting for him, and we're hoping he breaks out in a big way this weekend against conference foe Denver. Minnesota will host Friday night and Sunday afternoon games at Mariucci Arena so as to thoughtfully not interfere with Saturday's Al Arbour Night on Long Island. Thanks, guys!
Check back often for Isles/Gophers/Kyle news as it happens this weekend, and good luck to all three.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Well, that sucked
The return of hockey to the Island after a long layoff was a disaster as Carolina and old friend Peter Laviolette crushed the Isles 8-3, and it wasn't that close. Obviously, the layoff put some rust on the Isles (and seriously, who came up with this ridiculous scheduling?) and they really didn't start showing life until the third period when they peppered John Grahame with shots in the early portion of the period. The problem is that after starting to get some life back in the third, the Isles now have another 4 day layoff before playing Tampa Bay. The less said about the game, the better, although I'm sure Ken will have some more reaction from the carnage later on.
About the only good thing one can say is that with these repeated long layoffs, Bryan Berard will only end up missing about 3 games.
In other hockey news, the Flyers injured yet another player - this time, Boston's Patrice Bergeron suffered a broken nose and concussion after being boarded by Randy Jones. I'd imagine a suspension is on the way (although almost certainly not the 20-25 games the previous 2 Flyers incidents received). Stay classy, Philadelphia.
About the only good thing one can say is that with these repeated long layoffs, Bryan Berard will only end up missing about 3 games.
In other hockey news, the Flyers injured yet another player - this time, Boston's Patrice Bergeron suffered a broken nose and concussion after being boarded by Randy Jones. I'd imagine a suspension is on the way (although almost certainly not the 20-25 games the previous 2 Flyers incidents received). Stay classy, Philadelphia.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
I Wish Someone Would Play
If you've known me for any length of time, you'll know that March and April are my favorite months of the year. I mean, you've got spring training baseball, March Madness, my birthday, NHL teams jockeying for playoff positioning, flowers blooming, robins chirping, etc., etc.
Conversely, if that's 'the most wonderful time of the year,' it stands to reason that we're currently in the worst. We're left with a World Series involving teams I have no particular affinity toward, a just-completed Formula 1 season where the hero choked away his dream (for my overseas fans), and the impending onset of winter's icy grip.
To top it all off, I can't find my Islanders, who normally act like a piping hot mug of cocoa to fend off winter's chill. No, someone decided that they needed to play their games in bunches this season and then have entire weeks of downtime for (presumably) PlayStation 3 gaming.
The thing that irks me is that the Islanders have a bit of early momentum going, too. They currently stand 2nd in the league in power play percentage and 3rd in the league in penalty kill percentage. That's right, I said league. As in NHL. When's the last time we could say that?
So no Islanders, and to top it off the Gophers dropped both games of their weekend fixture with Colorado College. Mr. Okposo recorded a whopping 0 points in either contest.
So that's where we are. No Islanders. No Gophers. No self-respecting Islanders fan would watch the Rangers right now. I guess I'll flip around the dial and look for the Daily Show. Oh, they're currently showing re-runs? I should have guessed.
Conversely, if that's 'the most wonderful time of the year,' it stands to reason that we're currently in the worst. We're left with a World Series involving teams I have no particular affinity toward, a just-completed Formula 1 season where the hero choked away his dream (for my overseas fans), and the impending onset of winter's icy grip.
To top it all off, I can't find my Islanders, who normally act like a piping hot mug of cocoa to fend off winter's chill. No, someone decided that they needed to play their games in bunches this season and then have entire weeks of downtime for (presumably) PlayStation 3 gaming.
The thing that irks me is that the Islanders have a bit of early momentum going, too. They currently stand 2nd in the league in power play percentage and 3rd in the league in penalty kill percentage. That's right, I said league. As in NHL. When's the last time we could say that?
So no Islanders, and to top it off the Gophers dropped both games of their weekend fixture with Colorado College. Mr. Okposo recorded a whopping 0 points in either contest.
So that's where we are. No Islanders. No Gophers. No self-respecting Islanders fan would watch the Rangers right now. I guess I'll flip around the dial and look for the Daily Show. Oh, they're currently showing re-runs? I should have guessed.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Good Things Come in Threes
The Islanders came into tonight's game versus the Caps in desperate need of a win. After getting blown out in Toronto 8-1 and dropping their next match to Philly, it was their last chance to take something positive away from the road trip.
Lucky for us Isles fans, they did.
With all three metro area teams in action tonight, the search was on for which channel would feature the Long Island squad. Not surprisingly, it was again channel 14 (Cablevision spillover). If this doesn't tell you that the Isles are the red-headed stepchild of NY-area sports, I don't know what does. But I digress.
Up 2-0 (Bergenheim followed by Guerin) after two periods, the Islanders soon faced a real gut-check. Ruslan Fedotenko had a goal disallowed (which I thought Howie Rose and Billy Jaffe made too much out of in the booth) and the Caps soon leveled the scoring at 2. Ovechkin first put a laser past DiPietro; Tomas Fleischmann then chipped one in and the game had turned decidedly against the visitors.
However, this team did not lay down like those in years past might have. Washington's Chris Clark was called for a trip in his offensive zone, and the Isles got their power play unit up and running. Brian Berard gave the Islanders a 3-2 lead that they would only add to. The final was 5-2 when it was all said and done. New captain Bill Guerin netted the first Isles hat trick of the season, the aforementioned Berard contributed 3 points (1G, 2A), and on the night the Islanders struck for three power play goals (on 5 chances).
Chris Campoli ruined the theme by helping out with 4 assists, but other than that we have no complaints. He has been playing great.
Lastly, about those other metro area teams...the Devils were blanked in Philly and the Rangers were stung by a previously winless Atlanta squad. The Isles may not get respect, but for at least tonight the trifecta was complete.
Lucky for us Isles fans, they did.
With all three metro area teams in action tonight, the search was on for which channel would feature the Long Island squad. Not surprisingly, it was again channel 14 (Cablevision spillover). If this doesn't tell you that the Isles are the red-headed stepchild of NY-area sports, I don't know what does. But I digress.
Up 2-0 (Bergenheim followed by Guerin) after two periods, the Islanders soon faced a real gut-check. Ruslan Fedotenko had a goal disallowed (which I thought Howie Rose and Billy Jaffe made too much out of in the booth) and the Caps soon leveled the scoring at 2. Ovechkin first put a laser past DiPietro; Tomas Fleischmann then chipped one in and the game had turned decidedly against the visitors.
However, this team did not lay down like those in years past might have. Washington's Chris Clark was called for a trip in his offensive zone, and the Isles got their power play unit up and running. Brian Berard gave the Islanders a 3-2 lead that they would only add to. The final was 5-2 when it was all said and done. New captain Bill Guerin netted the first Isles hat trick of the season, the aforementioned Berard contributed 3 points (1G, 2A), and on the night the Islanders struck for three power play goals (on 5 chances).
Chris Campoli ruined the theme by helping out with 4 assists, but other than that we have no complaints. He has been playing great.
Lastly, about those other metro area teams...the Devils were blanked in Philly and the Rangers were stung by a previously winless Atlanta squad. The Isles may not get respect, but for at least tonight the trifecta was complete.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Time to Shine!
University of Minnesota hockey is back!
The Gophers took on Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in the second game of the IceBreaker Invitational last night. It was UM's first game of the season, and was played in front of a heavily partisan crowd at the XCel Energy Center in St. Paul.
The RPI Engineers went up 3-0 with under 5:00 to play in the second, and it wasn't looking good for the Gophers. The Gophers were being outhustled and outplayed, until Kyle decided he had seen enough loafing.
Minnesota netted their first goal of the night at 16:44 of the second period; Okposo assisted on linemate Ryan Stoa's power play goal, and Kyle had his first point of the season.
Blake Wheeler scored for UM 4:32 into the 3rd period to make it 3-2 in favor of RPI, but there was still plenty of time for heroics. Another power play, and another assist for Kyle, this time to Evan Kauffman, and the game was suddenly tied at 3. With over 9 minutes left to play, Minnesota still had time to set up the visitors for the kill. And who better to deliver the death blow than our man, Kyle Okposo?
With 1:11 left in the final period, KO delivered the knockout punch to the Engineers, taking a pass from Jay Barriball and knocking it past goalie Mathias Lange for the winner!
With that, all that was left to do was run the final minute or so off the clock, and the swift and sudden comeback was complete. It was engineered, if you will, by the 3-point effort of Okposo, who of course won first star of the game.
Humble as always, he gave full credit to his teammates. Not a bad opening night, if you ask me. Tomorrow UM plays 9th-ranked Michigan, a decidedly harder mark. Spare us the excitement and go up early on the Wolverines, no?
The Gophers took on Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in the second game of the IceBreaker Invitational last night. It was UM's first game of the season, and was played in front of a heavily partisan crowd at the XCel Energy Center in St. Paul.
The RPI Engineers went up 3-0 with under 5:00 to play in the second, and it wasn't looking good for the Gophers. The Gophers were being outhustled and outplayed, until Kyle decided he had seen enough loafing.
Minnesota netted their first goal of the night at 16:44 of the second period; Okposo assisted on linemate Ryan Stoa's power play goal, and Kyle had his first point of the season.
Blake Wheeler scored for UM 4:32 into the 3rd period to make it 3-2 in favor of RPI, but there was still plenty of time for heroics. Another power play, and another assist for Kyle, this time to Evan Kauffman, and the game was suddenly tied at 3. With over 9 minutes left to play, Minnesota still had time to set up the visitors for the kill. And who better to deliver the death blow than our man, Kyle Okposo?
With 1:11 left in the final period, KO delivered the knockout punch to the Engineers, taking a pass from Jay Barriball and knocking it past goalie Mathias Lange for the winner!
With that, all that was left to do was run the final minute or so off the clock, and the swift and sudden comeback was complete. It was engineered, if you will, by the 3-point effort of Okposo, who of course won first star of the game.
Humble as always, he gave full credit to his teammates. Not a bad opening night, if you ask me. Tomorrow UM plays 9th-ranked Michigan, a decidedly harder mark. Spare us the excitement and go up early on the Wolverines, no?
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Wrapping up the Rangers
T minus one day until Kyle hockey!
A few thoughts on last night's Rangers game. I won't go through the entire game recap; you can surely visit NHL.com, ESPN, or one of my fellow BLOG BOXers for that. In fact, Tom Liodice of The Tiger Track was again liveblogging from the game. Here are a few random thoughts:
- The Isles were outshot 37-30, but they were not outworked. This morning I read that the Isles blocked or deflected an additional 19 shots that never reached DiPietro. Great hustle and dedication. Way to keep them wrapped up, boys!
- There was more fighting in the stands than on the ice. While people anticipated a brawl-filled game, there was barely any of that. Meanwhile, I witnessed at least two dustups in the seats which were quickly snuffed out by Coliseum security. The participants were tossed and missed a great 3rd period. Too bad for them.
- After our postgame debrief session, I lingered a bit to try to get some Islanders photos. Sean Bergenheim was nice enough to stop and let me snap him, but here's the interesting thing. On my way to the exits, I popped back into the arena and another game was being played! The Assassins were taking on the Villains. Who are these guys? Is there a clandestine hockey league playing late-night contests on the sacred Islander ice? If so, how do I get involved?
- Has anyone tried the Nassau Coliseum sushi yet? As a sushiphile myself (Hai, watashi wa Nihongo-ga scoshi wakarimasu), I am a bit wary. If you have tried it and are still living, drop us a line in the comments section.
- Since the Isles are in Toronto tonight, what better time to debut a few of the photos I took at the Hockey Hall of Fame this summer? Enjoy!
The entrance to the Hall of Fame
Dr. Hook and Okposo Island with the Cup
The last time it happened. It's been too long.
Trophies everywhere
Sweater of Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. Bergenheim's team last year, Y****n's this year.
A few thoughts on last night's Rangers game. I won't go through the entire game recap; you can surely visit NHL.com, ESPN, or one of my fellow BLOG BOXers for that. In fact, Tom Liodice of The Tiger Track was again liveblogging from the game. Here are a few random thoughts:
- The Isles were outshot 37-30, but they were not outworked. This morning I read that the Isles blocked or deflected an additional 19 shots that never reached DiPietro. Great hustle and dedication. Way to keep them wrapped up, boys!
- There was more fighting in the stands than on the ice. While people anticipated a brawl-filled game, there was barely any of that. Meanwhile, I witnessed at least two dustups in the seats which were quickly snuffed out by Coliseum security. The participants were tossed and missed a great 3rd period. Too bad for them.
- After our postgame debrief session, I lingered a bit to try to get some Islanders photos. Sean Bergenheim was nice enough to stop and let me snap him, but here's the interesting thing. On my way to the exits, I popped back into the arena and another game was being played! The Assassins were taking on the Villains. Who are these guys? Is there a clandestine hockey league playing late-night contests on the sacred Islander ice? If so, how do I get involved?
- Has anyone tried the Nassau Coliseum sushi yet? As a sushiphile myself (Hai, watashi wa Nihongo-ga scoshi wakarimasu), I am a bit wary. If you have tried it and are still living, drop us a line in the comments section.
- Since the Isles are in Toronto tonight, what better time to debut a few of the photos I took at the Hockey Hall of Fame this summer? Enjoy!
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